fiscal cliff, a bad deal -- none of those guys on the republican side -- >> i think look bac at your besellers have a tinge of guilt tat road you to publishe publishing fame a wel lusivers n pin stripes. >> ty are good guys. >> you called them worms. >> they are good guy worms. >> i hate you >>ll right. >> i love you all. neil: i wish we had more time. anyuts are dead on arrival, he'll beere, so is ralph nader nader. lashing back about how u.s. coanies are taking money out, wait until you hear him let her rip. >> but first the democrat who demanded a voioice and g one, demanded a voioice and g one, did h before copd... i took my son shing every year. we haa great spot, not easto find, but worth it. but witcopd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be or. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung funcon starting thin five minutes. mbicort doesn't replace rescue inhaler forudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better. and that means...fish on! symbicort is for copd including chron bnchitis and emphysema. it should not be tak

rates and rolls kick in. january 2, 2013, $110 billion in fiscal cliff spending cuts due to begin. march 27, 2013, funding of the federal government expires. august 1, 2013, white house's suggested deadline for resolving major changes to the tax code and entitlements. ron has this to say about the fiscal cliff -- let's hear from ray in philadelphia, a republican caller. caller: good morning. i think the republicans have to get out a better message. if we realize we ran out of money for all the programs we are having, what is going to happen in another 10 years? what happens is, these people earning more than $250,000, they worked from the age of 18 to move up the ladder and finally reached success. the pint the republicans have to make is it is time to lower taxes on middle-class families. it has reached a pinnacle. it is time to may be lower taxes on the middle-class. we have to cut spending because the economy is in such bad positicondition. democrats keep pointing out that 98% of businesses are less than $250,000. 98% of people working in those businesses -- with that went to i

go over the fiscal cliff in. >> absolutely. there's no prospect to an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest. it's only 2%. >> i want to bring in "usa today" bureau chief and welcome to both of you. where are we in these negotiations, susan? >> i think the most encouraging thing was they agreed to the to characterize the phone call. the last time around the characterization of the phone call became a controversy in itself. i think it's pretty clear that the white house and republicans think the white house hand on this is strengthening. we see the polls that you mention, pew polls this week say americans trust the president more, assume if a deal is not reached -- trust the white house more, think if a deal isn't reached it, will be the fault of republicans and it is in fact easier for democrats to go over the fiscal cliff than it is for republicans because then all those tax cuts from the republicans are swept away. but it's too early. it's only december 6. we've got until december 31st and in washington that's a long time. >> a lifetime. you wrote yesterd

as we take it up with the a-team. the so-called fiscal cliff is really all about the obama ultimate may tum. >> i'm not going to sign any package that somehow prevents the top rates from going up for folks at the top 2%. lou: president's ultimatum and his insistence on higher taxes may take us over the cliff. chris and steven next. the next scott walker? michigan's republican governor ready to do political battle with organized labor in his state. what about a right to work law? straight ahead. the boys use capital one venture miles for thr annual football trip. that's double miles you can actually use. tragically, their ddy got sacked by blackouts. but it's our tradition! that's roughing the card holder. buwith the capital one venture card you get double miles you can actually use. [ cheering ] any flight, anytime. the scoreboard doesn't lie. what's in your wallet? hut! i have me on my fantasy team. if you're a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct conta

up with the a-team. the so-called fiscal cliff is really all about the obama ultimate may tum. >> i'm not going to sign a package that somehow prevents the top rates from going up for folks at the top 2%. lou: president's ultimatum and his insistence on higher taxes may take us over the cliff. chris and steven next. the next scott walker? michigan's republican governor ready to do plitical battle with organized labor in his state. what about a right to work law? straight ahead. [beep] [indistinct chatter] [kids talking at once] [speaking reign language] [heart beating] [heartbeat continues] [faint singing] [heartbeat, music playing louder] ♪ i'm feeling better since you know me ♪ ♪ i was a lonely soul, but that's the old me... ♪ announcer: this song was created with heartbeats of children in need. find out how it can help frontline health workers bring hope to millions of children at everybeatmatters.org. lou: the staffs of both president obama and house speaker boehner are talking, but there is still no word of progress on the so-called fiscal cliff or the president's ultimatum. silence indicate a deal in the works or something too ugly for th

$75 or more. >> greta: we're about to go head first over the fiscal cliff and democrats and republicans are still miles apart. we spoke with gop senator john cornyn about president obama's plans too tax hikes. talking about increasing taxes, letting the tax rate go up on people making over $250,000 a year. as i understand it, that's about $85 billion a year, funding the government for eight days. $85 billion is a lot of money, but if you look at government waste, even senator tom coburn has identified $20 billion in waste. has anybody thought about getting the revenue from waste, seeing just how much we really need? >> the problem has usually been if you rdise taxes, the spending cuts will come later, and they never seem to manifest. >> greta: but not even spending cuts. actually waste. >> well, yeah, waste and fraud and abuse are the famous three horsemen of cuts. but the fact is that many times they're harder to get to it would afternoon. i think tom coburn has done a great service by identifying a lot of duplication and waste in the government, including in the pentagon. i'm a defense hawk, but the pentagon needs to do a better job when it comes to handling the people's money too. you can't close that gap between spending and the debt by just

fiscal cliff does involve higher taxes? you have higher taxes, a slowing economy and baby inflation. what do you think, will it start to kick in click select this is a recipe for disaster >> the accumulation of excess reserves in the commercial banks that right now are just parks at the federal reserve. while the fed says it has an exit strategy, nobody knows at the fed no how high interest rates would have to go to prevent that from becoming the source of inflation later in this decade. that is what worries me. the fed has built up a kind of liquidity that will be very hard to control. they provide very high interest rates at a time where the unemployment rate is still high in the fed may back away from tightening fast enough to prevent an increase in inflation. lori: do you think interest rates will stay at low levels? the fact we have not had a market reaction stepping in to raise rates sharply, what do you think of that? >> the fed can keep the short rates low, but at some point, rates will have to go back to normal levels and if inflation picks up, they will go up very substantially.

fiscal cliff negotiations. it is not painful until the very end of the year. how this benefits the company. adam: the note dropped 7.7%, the lowest rate since december 2008. that is just a headline. let's get to nicole petallides. the traders are reading a bit into this report. nicole: the first thing they noted when i came in here, a lot of them are talking about the fact that the prior month had been revised lower. the prior month which seemed like they were good news, in fact, were not as good as they seemed. they take these numbers with a grain of salt. the dow, nasdaq and s&p are mixed today. the dow is up about one third of 1%. what is interesting, this will be our third wedding week in a row. they have not been dramatic moves, but last week was pretty slots. jpmorgan and bank of america are some names on the dow that are holding on pretty nicely. the tech heavy nasdaq down one half of 1%. adam: a lot of people watching that jobs number. thank you very much. dennis: according to today's jobs report, the unemployment rate is down to 7.7%. the lowest level it has been to since 2007. 23 billion people are out of work or underemployed. is

, even as we head toward the fiscal cliff, which could make it even worse. so we need to do all we can to ensure that our workers and our farmers have access to the 95% of consumers who live outside of our borders. that adds jobs. and when companies consider whether they're going to get into the export business or not which, again, creates opportunity here, they want to know are they going to be treated with certainty, predictability, with fairness in the marketplace. exporters need to know that the country doesn't play by the rules, that country will then face consequences. and those consequences really is what the world trade organization is all about. that's why this discussion is so important, because by today or tomorrow voting to authorize permanent normal trade relations with russia, we then can take advantage of the world trade organization rules as they relate to russia and our trade with them. russia joined the w.t.o. on august 22, and the united states was a big part of that accession we were talking for 18 years with russia to ensure they would go along with certain fair provi

will push back on president obama's demand for tax hikes on the rich when it comes to the fiscal cliff. but treasury secretary timothy geithner says the white house will not give in. >> no prospect to an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest americans. remember it's only 2%. >> geithner adds the obama administration is, quote, absolutely prepared to go off the cliff, if necessary. joining me now is van jones, cnn contributor and former obama administration official. good morning. >> god morning to you. >> so, van, i guess my first question that's eatsy for geithner to say, we're perfectly willing to go off the fiscal cliff. that means a tax hike on middle class americans and maybe some of them are thinking this morning i'm not really so happy geithner said that. >> it might have been inartful for him to say it the way he said it. i think he is making a very important point, which is that the american people did vote. they voted for the one thing the president said very clearly, which is that tax rates would go up on the wealthiest. it's an incredibly popular position. it's important for republicans to know that the white house is not going to accept any kind of a deal. that's the point h

fiscal cliff, but feel very strongly we've got to get serious here. we don't want to increase tax rates. we're not going to increase tax rates. and we want to do something about the spending problem. and remember, the good will, the piece that is, i think, determinive here, the speakers put new revenues on the table just after the election and said we get it. the president won his re-election. we wonelection. >> they know they need to put revenant on the table, but will and give them the entitlement cuts? >> we will take this as a serious matter. this is not a game. we are interested in trying to solve the problem for the american people so that we do not see taxes go up on anybody, so we can engage in reform, get the economy going again. we're not playing a game. that offer yesterday was not serious. thank you. >> that was a portion of a briefing held earlier today. eric cantor talked about a bill that the house pass today that creates a new visa program. the vote was 245-139. the house is adjourned for the week, but members return at noon on monday. for more about that, we will now show you

." today president obama again made clear there will be no deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff without the rich paying a higher tax rate. got it? higher rate. in this interview on bloomberg tv, he made it. let's listen. >> the issue right now that's relevant is the acknowledgment that if we're going to raise revenues that are sufficient to balance with the very tough cuts that we've already made and the further reforms in entitlements that i'm prepared to make, that we're going to have to see the rates on the top 2% go up, and we're not going to be able to get a deal without it. >> there you heard it again, top rates have to go up, and rates. and some republicans are saying that the gop will ultimately say uncle. conservative columnist byron york, a very smart guy, wrote, quote, republicans will cave on the question of raising the tax rate for the highest income americans. the only question is whether they do so before or after the government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff. "new york times" columnist david brooks describes it this way. republicans will be raising middle class taxes in order to serve the rich. shafting

the we go back -- at the fiscal cliff, we go back to 2001 with the lowering of the tax rates, meant to create jobs. but in the past 10 or 11 years, we have not had any job creation whatsoever. we keep going back and hearing over and over again that it's going to cost jobs. we do not have jobs to begin with. businesses are out to make money. if consumers do not have money to spend, then you can lower their taxes to 0%. they still cannot spend because they do not have any income. guest: i think that is a great point. it brings up one thing we have not mentioned yet. the payroll tax cut is about to expire. if that expires, every paycheck in the country is going to go down about $1,000 on january 1st. that would hurt consumption. it would hurt the customers of businesses. the president has proposed to extend that. i think that is reasonable. we will see a firm public and keep up their opposition or they give in. we have a sleeper here that cannot be ignored. if we do not extend that, every paycheck in the country is going to go down. >> i agree -- guest: i agree. we should extend that f

engaged. >> of course all of this negotiation around the fiscal cliff, the president actually indicated today that he might be president-electable. he says he's not necessarily looking for income tax rates as high as they were under president clinton. secretary geithner is going to meet with congressional leaders tomorrow. do you think they will demonstrating some wiggle room, as well? >> i personally don't think it's that big of a banner sign. if there was actually a movement toward a deal, i think you'd see president obama meeting with these leaders in congress as opposed to cabinet aids. i'm hearing democrats still pressing the case. they're still making the argument that they want to raise taxes on that small percentage of americans. the white house has not put forth any specifics. depending how the president secretary goes, there is miles of space in between the two sides on this one. >> all right. one of my favorite reporters juana summers with politico. thank you for joining us. >> up next, it has several layers. the story on the outside is far different than the inside. yes, as far as metaphors go, the saga of the twinkie takes the cake. all right make that metaphors and pun its. w

that is the proposition of letting the fiscal cliff expire, go down the fiscal cliff for tax rates, and adjust the taxes for the 98% through the rebate process. and this could be available for anyone, any president. let the bush tax rates apply as a ceiling, and then apply the rebate process to control the 98%. host: why do you propose that? what is the advantage in your view? caller: because the executive branch, the president, whoever it is, would have the ability to adjust the tax effectively for anyone who falls below the clintons' ceiling, and they could do this anytime. there would not have to go back to congress. -- they would not have to go back to congress. guest: it is true that technically the administration can do some things without even the congress's approval, but it would not be a lasting solution. let's say you could freeze the amount of withholding that you pay three paycheck at the level it was this year, for the 98%, and increase withholdings for everyone else as the law would dictate if you read over the cliff. -- went over the cliff. but the 98%, if they did not ac

tax rates affect the market. if we go off the fiscal cliff and congress doesn't take any action to soften the blow, tax rates will go up quite a lot on dividends, from 15% to more than 40% in most circumstances. there are economists who think that will have a big impact on stock markets and they could go down 10%, maybe 20%. i do not think those effects are as strong as some economists believe. i think it is something the market could get over. you're in a long term tax and vanished savings situation. i think you are basically going to be fine unless you're planning on retiring release soon. i do think that is something you have to keep in mind. diversification out of the assets that are most affected by these kinds of taxes is probably never a bad idea. host: john mckinnon is a reporter for "the wall street journal." he is now in the washington bureau. he was a columnist for "the miami herald." what sectors would be hit harder if deductions and loopholes or taken out of the tax code? guest: the stocks that pay a high dividend. these tend to be utility stocks. there are lots of old, established, u.s. industrial f

gets near and the fiscal cliff approaches and becomes eminent, the public pays more attention. the facts are clear on this. the election said that we raise rates on the wealthiest people. just ask them to pay a bit more. the election said that basically they didn't believe republicans if they could produce more revenues. the public believes republicans want to stick it to the middle class. the show says that every day. they are understanding it as we get closer to the fiscal cliff. >> it says a signal to people that the senate passed tax cuts for 98% of americans but they won't do it in the house. that was before the election. and i just holding the ground is going to be important, no question about that. i get a sense the democrats are unified. but going over the cliff, that affects the constituents big time. correct? >> how do you hold that together? >> there's unanimity that july 25th, we passed tax cuts for the 98% to continue this tax policy that they get an average tax cut meaning if it expires, their taxes go up. republicans know that. republicans know if they don't do it by january 1st, we're going to keep passing tax cuts for the middle

. >> let's turn to the fiscal cliff, i know you don't want to get clinical or partisan, or even talk about this ridiculous phrase "fiscal cliff," just in your dealings with the financial issues for the last 30 or 40 years, what is your view about taxation, generally. doesn't america suffer when taxes are slightly higher in terms of economic prosperity? or is that just a bit of a myth? >> well, i think there are a lot of theories running around out there. and i have the formal education, and finance degree so i studied economics like a lot of us did. i was formally taught, the proper way is that way. that seems to be the direction of the obama administration, the idea to raise taxes. and the government control the reinvestment interest the economy. really, there is not much evidence that that has worked. it didn't work under obama or bush, even an argument it didn't work under fdr, which is where it came from. that probably world war ii bailed us out of the economic slump, probably called the great depression, rather than that. i am a sophisticated guy, i don't have a lot of sophistic

"republicans are seriously considering a doomsday plan if fiscal cliff talks collapse entirely. it would be quite simple. house republicans would allow a vote on extending the bush middle class tax cuts. that bill already passed in august in the senate. and offer the president nothing more. no extension to the debt ceiling, nothing on unemployment, nothing on loopholes. congress would recess for the holidays and the president would face a big battle early in the year over the debt ceiling. ." two republican officials tell me this is becoming the most likely scenario. "the new york times" added more detail including this amazing quote from rep michael c. burgess of texas. "there's always better ground, but we have to get there." in this case the better ground is exchanging the threat of a congressionally induced recession for the threat of a congressionally induced global financial crisis combined with recession. that, that is your better ground? that's a big plan? it's not -- it's not better ground for the economy. and, frankly, i find it difficult to see how it's better political ground ev

parts of the fiscal cliff discussion. today we're looking at tax extenders for businesses and individuals. joining us is sam goldfarb, a tax writer for cq roll call. what our tax extenders? guest: they are temporary tax breaks. some people are concerned the entire tax code is turning into a big tax extender. they are considered to be a small provision and targeted at specific types of businesses. host: why are they temporary? guest: a lot of people say they should be made permanent or they should be eliminated altogether. it is easier to pass when they are temporary. they keep on being extended and extended. host: we will look at some of these. these are some of the tax extenders and the cost of continuing the tax breaks through 2013. host: some of those are really specific. guest: that is the idea. they have become a case study in what some people think is wrong with the tax code. if there are loopholes that can be claimed to love god and their because of a lobbyist lobbied hard to get there, it is these tax breaks that come under scrutiny. host: why is the r&d tax credit not

fear they're not being honest with the people. i think the fiscal cliff is a big red herring to get rid of social programs. i also heard that your district has assured his life span in the country for women the highest infant mortality rate for children. and per-capita people without health insurance and mississippi is ahead of us. that is three were leading the country. if the people want to see you and the republican party want to take the country look at your district. >> i would be delighted. 14,000 farms and ranches to tremendous military installations by colleges and universities, "underdogs" and indian tribes and the best college football team in america up. i would argue with your statistics but i do think i broadly reflect what people in my district thing. i won with 60% of the vote for guys say the same thing today as the town meeting. saying that that the ryan budget gets rid of the social programs it is about saving them. medicare and medicaid all have to be structurally reform if the president list assume he gets every tax position it would not come close to solve the budgetary problem to protect 98% of the people republicans had courage to put the ryan budget on the table we need to see that same kind of courag

debate? guest: all of this depends on how the fiscal cliff sorts itself out. yesterday, you have senators say we want on income benefits extended. if the fiscal cliff debate is only limited to tax rates and deficit reduction, and not the debt ceiling, this will come up again. president obama once the debt ceiling to be part of this agreement. the reason why is simple, because that is where republicans have leverage in february. he needs republicans to extend the debt ceiling for the government to function with all going into default. republicans know this, and in theory they could separate the two to maximize their leverage. host: time for a couple more calls in this segment of the "washington journal," we will continue the unemployment insurance discussion in the following segment. laura is in louisville, kentucky, on the independent line. caller: good morning. what bothers me is when people say they actually can not find work and they have been on unemployment for 20 months, whatever they can get, and i will tell you my husband lost his job five years ago. he was with a company for 23 years. immediately we went into survival mode. we thought about what we could do to reduce bills, simp

fiscal cliff unless both sides agree to raise rates on the wealthiest. that means raise tax rates for top earners. the reason that this is news is because there's been discussion publicly that perhaps they could find a rev new agreement where it would just involve capping deductions or maybe they could get to revenue just through tax reform, and with this piece of detail from that phone call yesterday, it would seem that the democrats, the president personally, is drawing a line saying those other ways are not enough. his campaign message that the top earners have to pay more, he is sticking to that line many these negotiations. >> jess, do we know how the republicans responded to this red line? >> well, speaker boehner was frustrated, wrovl, and came out with -- in his press conference today basically accusing the president of not leading on the issue. both sides are calling for the white house to come forward with spending cuts first, tell us where you are going to cut spending, before we, the republicans, will say whether we'll go along with you on tax rates. >> okay. there's a red lin

thing i would add is the package, what makes this so critical in the fiscal cliff discussion, is we are talking about the past for the 2012 taxable year. -- unlike the rest of the fiscal cliff which effects rates that will apply next year. the patch applies for returns we file early next year. if there is no congressional action, there is an abrupt increase in tax on the 2012 taxable year. in 2011, approximately 4 million people paid the amt. if there is not a patch, 30 million people will be required to pay the amt in 2012, and they will pay an additional $90 billion in tax. very few of them have any idea this is on the table. host: is the irs prepared? guest: the irs is fairly unusual, but in a correct position, that congress will do the responsible thing -- they took the position that congress will do the responsible thing. they assumed congress will enact a package before the end of the year, and i think that was the reasonable thing to do because i believe they will do that. however, it does mean if there is not a patch of the tax return filing season next year will be quite chaotic. >> you can see all of that interview at c-span.org. we are live at the reward dinner. is this year's recipient.

concerned that the fiscal cliff is keeping jobs from hiring. vice president joe biden will have lunch with a group of middle class americans. their taxes could sky rocket if congress and president obama don't reach an agreement on a budget by the end of the year. the white house has highlighted several middle class families' struggles in making the case for a deal. >>> in syria tensioned at a boiling point between rebels and the government. syrian rebels have declared damascus international airport a military target, warning civilians and airlines not to approach it. this comes as reports of the government preparing to use chemical weapons on the civilians there. since march of 2011, 40,000 people have been killed in the country's civil war. >>> a u.s. capitol police officer is in the hospital this morning after being hit by a car. this happened around 8:30 last night around massachusetts avenue in northeast washington. we're told the officer was hit during a traffic stop. her condition has not been released. so far no charges have been filed against the driver. >>> a video post

rates on the wealthy, you guys are willing to go off the fiscal cliff? >> if republicans are not willing to let rates go back up, and we think they should go back to the clinton levels, a time when the american economy is doing exceptionally well, then there will not be an agreement. >> but house speaker john bigger is digging in himself, admitting talks are going nowhere. speaker boehner also described the moment when secretary geithner first showed him the president's opening offer. >> i was just flabbergasted. i looked at him and said, "you can't be serious." i've just never seen anything like it. you know, we've got seven weeks between election day and the end of the year. and three of those weeks have been wasted with this nonsense. right now i would say we're nowhere, period. we're nowhere. we've put a serious offer on the table by putting revenues up there to try to get this question resolved. but the white house has responded with virtually nothing. they've actually asked for more revenue than they've been asking for the whole entire time. >> what are the chances we're going to go over the cliff

that decision. now, you are, i think, correct in the second piece of the fiscal cliff. that is the tax rates that will apply next year. arguably, you don't have to take action this year, you have the whole of next year during which you can reach resolution to that issue. now, the only reason why i think that's an extraordinarily bad idea is i think it would be viewed quite unfavorably by the financial markets. and so you could see a reaction. and it is really bad tax policy to be legislating in the middle of the tax year on the basic structure of the income tax for that year. >> host: we'll go to jeff in tampa, florida, independent caller. >> caller: good morning, how you doing? >> host: good morning, sir. >> caller: yes, i have a question for mr. buckley, and this is more -- it may be a little generic, but something that a couple of my friends and i have talked about and just trying a basic understanding of. instead of having an income tax, has there ever been any discussion about having a national or a federal sales tax to help offset so this way everyone from the rich to the poor, everyone pay

there. the only thing i would add is what makes this so critical in the fiscal cliff discussion is we are talking about the patch for the 2012 tax year. unlike the rest of the fiscal cliff, which affects tax rates that will play next year, the patch applies to the return that we will all have to file early next year. so if there is not congressional action here, there is an abrupt increase in tax on the 2012 taxable year in 20 of 11 approximately 4 million people paid the amt. if there's not a patch, 30 million people will be required to pay the amt in 2012 for the current taxable year and they will pay an additional $90 billion in tax. very few of them have any idea. >> host: is the irs prepared? >> guest: the irs took a fairly unusual -- but i think correct position. they took the position that congress will do the responsible name. so they did their tax program for next year, for the 2012 return, assuming congress would enact the patch before the end. i think that was a reasonable thing to do because i believe they will do that. however, it does mean if there is not a patch, the tax return idling season next year would be quite chaotic. >> host: john buckley is our guest and we talk about the alt

racing against the clock with 29 days to go now before the country reaches a fiscal cliff. at that rate, talks are going slow. the u.s. seems poised to go over the edge. wendell goler live at the white house. okay, does everyone have like the calendar in front of them realizing what the date actually is? >> it's a high stakes poker game. each side waiting for the other to show its cards. the white house demanding republicans say how much they're willing to raise taxes and republicans demanding the white house list the spending cuts. democrats are willing to accept. there is, as you say, less than month before the deadline and realistically, there may be less time than that given the need for congress to actually write legislation. house speaker john boehner said on fox news sunday, right now they've got nothing to start with. >> i would say we're nowhere, period. we're nowhere. we've put a serious offer on the table by putting revenues up there to try to get this question resolved. but the white house has responded with virtually nothing. they've actually asked for more revenue than they've be

to slow-walk our economy right to the edge of the fiscal cliff. >> sreenivasan: the president has insisted there will be no deal unless republicans agree to raise tax rates on the top 2%. republicans say the tax hikes would only hurt job creation. but in arlington, virginia, vice president biden said today's jobs report shows the economy is turning a corner, so it's critical to get a deal. >> there is a sense... there is a sense that if we can reach an- - act like adults and reach an agreement here on the fiscal cliff, the upside is much higher even than the downside is if we don't. >> sreenivasan: biden said the president is willing to consider what he called any serious offer. aides for the two sides were expected to continue talking, through the weekend. wall street was mostly higher on the news from november's jobs report. the dow jones industrial average gained 81 points to close at 13,155. the nasdaq was hurt by another sell-off in apple stock, and fell 11 points to close at 2,978. for the week, the dow gained 1%. the nasdaq lost 1%. this was another tense day across egypt, as a political crisis deepened. tonight, thousands of protesters pushed past a

. i think without the fiscal cliff, we will do all right. lori: tax rates or than likely are going up, at least for one class. you have this slow growth. at the same time, think of the federal reserve keeping rates low for so long. we could be in serious trouble. >> on the inflation front, we are not very worried for the next year or two. it is out there, but not the next year or two. they will phase in whatever tax increase they put in. it will not hit next year. it will phase in over a couple years. that is the smart way to do it. lori: thank you for your time. >> thank you. you bet. melissa: i would like to be optimistic. date -- details of the probe have not been released. over 80 people have already been questioned about the more than $5 billion in trading losses last day. peter barnes has the exquisite details right now. peter: we first learned about this probe in september through news media reports. the number of people questioned suggest that the scope of this thing is broad and could lead to more political problems in washington for jpmorgan chase. the probe covers $5.8 b

about the fiscal cliff standoff. he put his foot down on what is negotiable and what is not. >> we have to say the rates on the top 2% go up. and we're not going to get a deal without it. understand the reason for that. it's not me being stubborn. it's not me being partisan. it's just a matter of math. i'm happy to entertain other ideas the republicans may present, but we are not going to cut our way to prosperity or cut our way out of the deficit problem we have. >> so, are we on the verge of something big, something that could really change our politics? joining me now, senator barbara boxer, democrat from california and whip of the senate. thank you for being on the show. >> i love being on your show. thank you. >> if the gop agrees to tax increases, how important might that be in terms of showing they actually are capable of working with the president? >> you know, the way they raised the question, if they agree to tax increases, they claim they're willing to do these loop-hole closers but the difference here is the tax rates. here's the issue. as you know, the bush tax cuts, which resulted in rates be

for the market. well, the easiest way to end the uncertainty about the fiscal cliff and tax rates and their potential impact of the vast majority of americans as they go into this vital holiday shopping season that's pretty central to our economy is for us to pass that and say okay, that part of this is over. the $2,000 on average tax hike that most working families are facing, if we go over the cliff done, taken care of. now, let's work through the balance of increased revenue on the high income earners and spending cuts that we need to get done to achieve a roughly $4 trillion savings. >> bill: and closing loopholes and other issues. >> that's a difficult process. there's lots of detail to it. in my view, there's two bad outcomes here that are quite possible. first is we do nothing. which is -- something we seem to have shown some real capability of. but if we go over the if is cal cliff, which is really more of a slope than a cliff. it is not like y2k where january 1, everybody has a dramatic cuts in services and dramatic increases in taxes. that will smooth in over time. that will

we go over the fiscal cliff. republicans will pay a larger price. it's about making sure they don't drive themselves off a middle class cliff by digging their heels into lower rates. actual hadly have lower rates for the wealthy than the wealt >> tripp, you work for a group -- you're saying, hey, we stand for principle but you're not there to win elections. you're there to win policy fights. >> right. >> the fact is, if republicans could be -- some concern is republicans pulling away from the vote. >> hopefully good policy makes good politics. in this case, if we can see the tax issue, that's not going to fix the problem. the drivers of the debt is spending but also is is entitlement and boehner punting, capitulated to the white house -- >> capitulation on the white house doesn't even -- >> that's a pretty -- >> well, we're all going to put our heads in the sand and say that entitlement are not the drivers of the deficit. >> you don't think he put enough detail on the entitlements? >> no. >> we'll ask him that when he comes back. our question of the day is how many current senators are named john? any spelling of the name counts. the answer is 12. isakson, kyl, boozman,

prospect of going over the fiscal cliff or extending the lower tax rate and at the upper one, which would you choose? >> i will do everything i can to avoid putting the american economy and the american people through the fiasco of going over the fiscal cliff. [indiscernible] >> as i told the president a couple of weeks ago, there are a lot of things i have wanted in my life, but almost all of them had a price tag attached to them. if we're going to talk about the debt limit in this, there will be some price tag associated with it. >> are you standing by the dollar-for-dollar on spending cuts? >> i continue to believe that any increase on the debt limit has to be accompanied with spending reductions that meet or exceed it. or exceed it. >> thursday house minority leader nancy pelosi democrats are prepared to vote for middle class tax cuts for 98% of americans. these remarks came after democratic leaders came -- met. >> this doesn't have to be a cliff hanger. the president has his pen poised to sign a middle income tax cut. it has passed the senate and house democrats are prepared to vote

fiscal cliff means a tax hike for just about everybody who does have a job. treasury secretary timothy geithner said the president is absolutely welling to go off the cliff unless republicans agree to raise tax rates. >> there is no prospect for an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest. only 2%. >> reporter: on that no progress. >> where are the specifics? where are the discussions? nothing is going on. >> reporter: there have been no real talks between the white house and republicans for a week, but they say one sign of progress, the president and the speaker of the house spoke via telephone. neither side would give any details about what was said. the stock market closed higher with traders optimistic a deal will be reached. jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >> amazing a phone call can calm the markets. impressive here. what i thought was interesting. we talked how the house is scheduled to go on vacation the 14th of the month. so actually there is a tighter deadline than the 31st. apparently, house majority leader eric kantor said we are not going on vacation until this thing is done. he is extending the house will be in session week of 17th. as well, the

assumes the president doesn't want to go over the fiscal cliff. i disagree. i think he does. i think he wants all the tax rates to go up. you can argue the politics of this. he needs revenue to come in. he wants more spending, not less. wants 1.2 trillion dollars in defense cuts because he wants to cut the military and wants an unlimited credit card in terms being allowed unilaterally to raise the debt limit. he wants all of these things and he knows he will not get blamed for it. the republicans will get blamed for it no matter what happens. the gop will get blamed for it because the mia is protective the president. he has nothing to lose, jon. he is willing to go over the cliff. >> i think what he is say take us over the cliff and vote with the democrats and dare republicans not vote it for 90% of the americans wouldn't be affected by top two tax rates. politician long last realistic how to negotiate in washington he finally understands what you need to do is come and say this is my position. republicans give us your position and we'll negotiate that way as opposed to coming to the table, john boehner i give yo